Gibraltar launches historic aircraft registry
Gibraltar has launched its first aircraft registry.
Gibraltar has launched its first aircraft registry which will open in 2026 with the VP-G prefix.
On Monday, the Government of Gibraltar signed a contract with Aviation Registry Group (which runs the Registry of Aruba and San Marino Aircraft Registry), having started working on the project in November 2022.
The next step will be an audit of the newly created Gibraltar Civil Aviation Authority by representatives of the UK Department for Transport early next year.
The Gibraltar Civil Aviation Authority will be led by Chris Purkiss, who has been appointed director general having held the post of director of the former Department of Civil Aviation since 2008 (and before that was station commander for RAF Gibraltar).
“Our ambition is to establish Gibraltar as a centre of excellence in the global aviation industry, delivering a first-class register that attracts the very best in private and commercial aviation,” said Purkiss at the signing. “It is not every day that you get the opportunity to create a new industry for Gibraltar from scratch, and we are determined to make it a success.”
The UK Civil Aviation Authority will oversee the Gibraltar Civil Aviation Authority and Gibraltar Aircraft Registry (as it does with the Isle of Man Aircraft Registry and Guernsey 2-Reg registry).
New industry
The registry will start with private aircraft but will eventually look at offering commercial aircraft operator certificates. Gibraltar is already a commercial shipping hub with strong legal, finance and insurance services. It hopes these companies will benefit from the new aircraft registry.
“It is very exciting to sign this document, which effectively launches a new industry in Gibraltar,” said Glendon Martinez, chief secretary of the Government of Gibraltar “I am grateful for the work of all involved in bringing this project to fruition and especially to Sir Jorge Colindres, whose team have provided the expertise necessary to guide the Civil Aviation Authority as they develop the Aircraft Register.”
Colindres came up with idea of forming a partnership between his company – International Air Safety Office – and the Aruba Department of Transport back in 1995. Colindres and his team would manage all of the administration and marketing for the Registry of Aruba. It would then use the registration fees it collected to pay for the entire budget of Aruba’s Directorate of Aviation.
At the time it was a revolutionary idea. But Aruba was happy to give it ago provided that it met top International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. It did this and was also rated Category-1 by the FAA.
Several other aircraft registries also replicated or adapted this the model including the extremely successful San Marino Aircraft Registry that Colindres launched with his son David Colindres and daughter-in-law Lindy Castillo.
“I am delighted to be working with such a respected jurisdiction and am sure that our combined efforts will result in the aircraft register being hugely successful. We have already started marketing the Gibraltar Aircraft Register and the response from aircraft owners has been very positive,” said Colindres.
Perpetuity
Gibraltar’s history is chequered, but it really began when 1,900 English and 400 Dutch marines took the Rock of Gibraltar back in 1704.
When Spanish King Charles II died without an heir in 1700 it quickly led to a game of thrones. When Philip V took over, his grandfather, Louis XIV, the Sun King of France, told him to block Spain’s trade with Britain and the Netherlands. This led to what became the War of Spanish Succession with various European countries including Austria, Prussia, Portugal, Bavaria and the Holy Roman Empire joining in.
The English and Dutch navies where worried that the French could block their access to the Mediterranean. So English Admiral Sir George Rooke decided to take the Rock of Gibraltar, at the bottom of Spain and just 15 miles from North Africa. The 24 ships that Rooke commanded started bombarding Gibraltar and marines boarded boats and stormed the beaches. A few days later they had taken the fort and town and defended it during various bloody sieges in the year that followed.
In the Treaty of Utrecht in 1714, which ended the war, the Spanish agreed that it would stay British for perpetuity. This is something that they have since regretted and has been disputed by Spain since then.
But Gibraltar’s population has voted overwhelmingly to stay as part of Britain in referendums in 1967 (99.64%) and 2002 (98.97%). So more than 300 years later the 2.6sqm (6.8sqkm) of Gibraltar is still a British Overseas Territory. Now it has an aircraft registry.
Meanwhile, for the latest profiles of leading aircraft registries, read the digital version of The Official Guide to Aircraft Registration 2025.
